


There Is Only Fire

by I_am_a_tumbleweed



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Avatar State, Bending (Avatar), Character Death, Dark Reylo, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, I Ship It, M/M, Running Away, Theft, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-25 04:54:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19738714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_am_a_tumbleweed/pseuds/I_am_a_tumbleweed
Summary: "Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, the four elements lived together in harmony. The Avatar, master of all four elements, controlled the balance by connecting with the World of Spirits, Shadows, the Ancient Dragons, and minds of those that resided in the world. They must maintain a balance between the world of darkness and the world of light, or the world will be lost to chaos....""This book is full of bullshit. There is no Avatar. There is no balance."Rey knew this new Admiral was wasting his time looking for foreign element benders. There was only fire. Only darkness and starvation. There was only fear. That's all she grew up with, and that's all there ever was in Ba Sing Se.But now, there is an awakening.





	1. The Scavenger

**Author's Note:**

> This is my attempt to redo my last fanfiction of AtLA and Star Wars (There Is No War in Ba Sing Se) that I wrote about two years ago. I reread it and...it sucked. Do you ever look back at your old writing and think "wow, that's just disgusting"? Anyways, hopefully this one is a bit more interesting and not so...forward and lame. I'm pretty sure my grammar has improved, but I could be proved otherwise. Hope you enjoy!

" _Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, the four elements lived together in harmony. The Avatar, master of all four elements, controlled the balance by connecting with the World of Spirits, Shadows, the Ancient Dragons, and minds of those that resided in the world. There is only one Avatar, taking turns originating from each Nation in a repeating cycle. A being with such power and force must adhere to responsibility, honor, wisdom, and love. They must maintain a balance between the world of darkness and the world of light, or the world will be lost to chaos._ " 

Rey snapped the book shut and looked up with a skeptical eye. 

"Shan, you know no one here can read, right?" she leaned her hip against the counter of _Plutt's Trading Post_ (more like _Plutt's Hellhole_ ) and crossed her arms at the teenager in front of her.

"So?" he scoffed, giving her one of his famous immature and idiotic faces.

" _So_ , no one is going to want it. _So_ , it isn't valuable here." 

"Well... _you_ can read it. Don't you want it?" he wriggled his eyebrows and Rey scowled, getting frustrated.

"Even if I did, it's full of bullshit. There is no Avatar. There is no _balance._ "

Shan stuck a lip out. "Aw, come on, Rey. This is the best I can do today. Can't you help a guy out?" He leaned forward and whispered, "The Fire Nation won't get off our asses."

With a huff and an eye roll, she snatched the book from him and handed him a silver piece. He gave her a toothy grin and skipped off, shouting a "Thanks!" as he blended into the crowd of tourists, beggars, and troublemakers. She watched him disappear, wanting to do the same, until her eyes met _his._ He was coolly leaning against a flag post with a smirk, his arm slung over one of his sisters' shoulder, who was babbling on to some merchant with food stupidly hanging out of his bag. Behind them snuck another one of his sisters, slowly snatching the goods away as the other sister distracted him. Rey raised an eyebrow as he shrugged, taking his arm off his sister. He mumbled something into the merchant's ear and swiped the bag of money attached to his pocket, hiding it in his palm and afterwards swaggering over to Rey's post. He gave her a wink and slid three gold pieces over the counter.

"For not ratting on us." 

Rey slid the pieces back over to him, retorting, "My mouth can't be bought."

He slid them back with a sly smirk. "Consider it a special friend's gift. You know what happens when _they_ catch us." He nodded to the Fire Nation soldiers guarding the path to the train station.

She slid them back, again. "I don't take charity, Dameron." 

He grinned at her with those sparkling eyes and pretty teeth. "Of course you don't. Well, sunshine, I should be heading back out. Got more pockets to pick and mouths to feed." He leaned in, and Rey thought he was going to kiss her cheek. Instead, she felt the gold pieces drop into her pocket one by one. He quickly retreated and walked away without hearing her final retort. Her cheeks burned as she stared after him, her heart beating a bit faster.

"What the _hell_ is this?" barked the most noisome voice she's forced to hear everyday. She turned around to see Plutt gripping the book she bought from Shan.

"It's a history book." She scratched her nails against the thin skin on her thumb and concentrated on the stinging pain. _Ignore him._

"A history book," he repeated. She stood still and waited for a reply; after a moment of silence passed, the back of Plutt's hand smacked across her face, the force knocking her off her feet. Her head hit against one of the metal beams supporting the hut and dark circles spotted her vision. She felt her bottom lip be yanked up and she cried out in pain, refraining from punching the asshole in the fat abyss they call a gut. She tasted blood under her teeth. "Any reason in particular you intentionally ripped me off, cunt?" 

She closed her eyes and tried her best to talk with one lip. "I just thought that someone would—“

Plutt threw her back down and kicked her stomach, the air in her lungs escaping. 

"I'll be taking those gold pieces your fuck rat gave you." With a shaking arm, she took the pieces out of her pocket and put them in his steak of a hand. He tossed the coins around with a yellow smile and grunted, "Maybe I should whore you out...or sell you to the Fire Nation. You'd make me more money that way." He snickered and stomped out, Rey watching as his repulsive figure disappeared behind the drapes that hid his office. 

She dropped her head back on the floor, closing her eyes and exhaling a few tears away. She needed some water. 

_Ding._

"Go away, we're closed," Rey croaked, looking at the sunset peeking through the tarp over her counter. 

" _Like_ hell _we are!"_ Plutt yelled from behind the curtains. " _You're working until you earn back that silver piece you slung out for that fucking book!"_

With a grotesque mixture of a sigh and a grunt, Rey pushed herself up and wiped the blood from her nose. 

"How can I help—hello?" she looked around, but the counter was empty. Confused, shrugged and turned around to look for a cup of water. She _needed_ some water.

_Ding._

She flipped back around, but still, no one was there. "What the hell?" she mumbled and looked over the counter. " _Ah_!" she jumped as she saw a tiny girl with ratty orange hair look up at her. She held up a small scroll of paper so small that it looked like some candy wrapper. Rey took it, confusedly shaking her head. The girl held up her index finger to her lips and darted off without a word. Rey's eyes watched her as she disappeared into the gradually approaching darkness, wondering if this just was another prank from Poe's gang. She unraveled the scroll and blankly stared at it.

_The dragon sees in the dark._

She sensed heavy footsteps behind her and turned around, meeting Plutt's eye while crushing the scroll in her fist.

"Any business?" he grunted. At least she couldn't lie.

"No. They didn't have anything of value." She heard a gargle in his throat as he pulled out her scavenger mask and shoved it in her bruising abdomen.

"Then go find something of value, you useless fuck." When he turned to leave, she scrunched her nose and glared at him. _I'll show you whose useless, disgusting bastard._

* * *

Darkness. She hated it. She hated how it made the world seem so small, how it made it hard to breathe, and how it suffocated her. She hated how silence and darkness were mated, and she especially hated how terrifying noises were in the darkness. Her soiled shoes crushed the gravel rocks beneath her as she ventured out into the abandoned district of the Outer Circle. The mask shielded her eyes, her goggles protruding a faint blue light to help her detect metals or coins. That was all the light she was permitted; the sun was down and the moon was always gone. She'd never seen stars...the smog from the Middle Ring covered them up every night. They were the industrialists, once, trying to make the world a better place. Now, all they're paid to do is manufacture whatever weapons the Fire Nation deems necessary to dominate the world. Rey had heard a rumor from Poe that a long time ago, they tried to create devices that could give a person incredible powers. Bending, he figured, but she doubted him per usual. 

She squeezed her way through a collapsed building, digging around for anything she could find. The most broken places usually carry the best scraps. She aimed her puny light at the rubble that surrounded her, but had no luck in discovery. She dug on, moving from building to building, climbing up apartment walls and using her own ropes to slide herself back down. It was a routine of hers, to infiltrate old homes and raid them of their value. She always tried her best to respect any family heirlooms or pictures...she had a soft spot for those. She burrowed each house, each room, stuffing her bag with coins, cups, old jewelry, etc., and felt actually productive for a change. Satisfied with her luggage, she turned to leave the apartment tower she'd climbed, but as she stepped forward, her foot kicked a shining box. Her heart caught in her throat as it made a raucous crash against the stone ruins, echoing through the building. She got ready to bolt until she heard a muffled tune coming from the container. Her instincts told her to leave it behind; someone surely heard her and she needed to run. Instead, she crouched over and opened it, revealing a spinning figurine and mirror. The figurine was a thin and graceful woman, her arms above her head and plastic water streams wrapping around her. _It's a waterbender._

Rey's eyes sparkled beneath her mask as she gaped at the music box, entranced. She could've stared at it forever, but a noise behind her snapped her attention back. Her body froze as she waited, trying not to breathe too loudly. Something was odd about her senses that she couldn't explain... A dull sensation ebbed in and out of her feet and fingertips, like she could _feel_ someone else in the room with her. Deciding not to wait any longer, she stood and fled, shoving the music box into her bag. She grabbed her rope and slid down, the skin on her palms burning away. _I need water..._ Her abdomen still ached from Plutt's boot. Without packing the rope back into her bag, she took off running down the alley with the feeling that she was being watched.

Her little hut down the road from Plutt's was worn down and too small for any adult to stay sane in. When she got there, her heart was aching and her legs were on the verge of giving out. She hadn't stopped running until she knew she had privacy. Being watched in Ba Sing Se is dangerous, especially at night. She's seen people disappear, their bodies returned a week later without a head or spine. Sometimes they come back alive, but they are burned beyond comprehension. The Fire Nation claim to be "protecting the people from danger", but Rey knew better. The last few months had gotten worse with the violence, and she strongly wanted to believe that the Fire Lord was searching for something. What, she didn't know, but it was something that the King of Ba Sing Se couldn't provide. _King my ass._ He was the worst king a city could ask for. He never went into public, never protected his people, or stopped pollution, or lowered taxes, or even _witnessed_ what the Fire Nation does to his citizens. Rey often wondered if he didn't exist, that the Fire Nation made him up to give the people a fake kind of order and class. It didn't matter to her, though. She just needed to survive on her own and never be caught again.

She filled a wide bowl full of "borrowed" water she got from Poe and slowly submerged her hands in. Her eyes tiredly closed in relief as the lump on her head and bruises on her stomach eased away, the water emitting a soft glow. She needed sleep...today was one of the better days.


	2. Networks

"Well?" 

Rey stood in the beating sunlight, holding her satchel of work from the night before. She felt nauseated, like she was having a sort of heat stroke that made her hands clammy. Her legs wobbled, threatening to give out as she pulled a few copper-lined cups and picture frames from the bag. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she wearily placed them on the counter in front of Plutt, who sat unconcerned. She squinted to try to clear the dark spots away from her vision, noticing his dissatisfied scowl. She dug back into her loot and handed over one item after another; coins, nails, shrapnel, metal brushes, lanterns, and unopened cans of oil. She reached in to grab the last item, but hesitated. Her fingers brushed the carvings of the music box before she took her empty hand out, sliding the bag back over her shoulder. His eyes squinted into hers, his hand fondling the money to his side.

"Get behind the counter, and wash the piss off your face. My workers can't look like they'd just fucked the whole Earth Kingdom," he flicked his arm, sending her away. She bit back whatever retaliation prodded at her tongue as her feet stumbled into the shade of her post. She propped her elbows on the counter and held her face in her hands, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. Her head spun and pounded, the sense of gravity oscillating in and out. She needed water.

_Ding._

"Damn, sunshine, you don't look so good." Rey forced her eyes open and glanced at Poe, hoping she wouldn't vomit.

"Still look better than you." He raised an amused brow and leaned against the counter, meeting her at eyelevel. Rey peered over at Plutt, who was eyeing them with a balled fist. "Poe, you need to leave. He has Fire Nation ties here." He let out a disappointed huff and stood up.

"His whole 'business'," he sneered as he looked around, "depends on people like us. What's he going to do, turn me in? I hate to break it to you Rey," he flashed a white grin and held his arms out, "but I'm his best customer. Here," he put a leather water pouch in her hand. "Drink it and give him the bottle, no charge. Don't pass out on us, you're the best scavenger here." He didn't wink when he walked away; he just gave her one of those concerned looks he gave his other helpless street rats. He lied to her: she wasn't the best scavenger, he was. The role has an unwritten duty behind it that puts the responsibility of others on top of their shoulders. It was the least _admirable_ nobility of a character, and Rey frequently neglected the nagging pleads in her head to help the others around her. Poe did it with ease, sweeping into the crowd and taking whatever food and money he saw in the plethora of wealthier tourists. He could vanish without a second glance, the talent and reputation of a ghost, and give it all away to the first child to cry from hunger. He was a hero in the networks of scavenging, who had the whole impoverished society smiling and batting their eyes in his presence. When Rey first met him, he was in a heated argument with a group of Fire Nation soldiers, yelling and standing over a girl with an apple in her hand. She'd stupidly stolen it from a market near the train station and the soldiers chased her all through the plaza. Poe through around allegations and a "private property" here and there, acting like they couldn't set him on fire at any moment. Rey never knew how he won, but the next day he wandered over to her post and gave her a set of armor to sell to Plutt. _Dumbass hero._

She popped the cap off of the pouch and carefully chugged the water down, pacing herself to not throw it all up. Her head and vision cleared, the pain relieving from her aching limbs. When the bag emptied, she looked over where Plutt sat to see only an indention in the ground from his chair. _Where'd he go?_

"You can't _do_ this to me, I have a business to run! Where the fuck do you think all this shit _comes_ from?!" Rey jumped and whipped around at the voices behind Plutt's curtains. Whoever else was in there had more volume restraint.

"Look, sir, this is above my control... I'll be happy to send a complaint to the Admiral as soon as he arrives tomorro—“

”I don't give two cum-stained _fucks_ about the bastard! My rats bring me in money, and you pay _me_. None of that will happen if your fuck buddy _Admiral_ snatches them all up in his cunt!" Rey heard Plutt slam his fist on a table, shaking its contents and spilling something.

"Watch yourself. You're lucky our business has lasted as long as it has."

" _I'm lucky_? The fuck do you think—“

"The Admiral sent me with a new proposition for your business. He will pay you for every one of your... _rats_ you turn in." There was a silence and Rey's heart dropped. Either she would be on top of that list...or Poe would.

"How much?" 

"Two-hundred gold pieces per scavenger." _Fuck._ She needed to tell Shan. She needed to tell Poe and his sisters and the rest of their people that they were being hunted down like animals. She knew the Fire Nation hated scavengers, but this...this was inhumane. 

"...I'll think it over."

"You have until sunrise. Want my opinion? I—"

"No, I don't want your _fucking_ opinion."

"— _I would_ open up a brothel. There are plenty of whores out there wanting to make a living, and you know what? I'd be first in line for that girl you got out front." Their footsteps approached the curtains and Rey bolted back to her counter, frantically polishing a silver bracelet with bile in her throat. She heard the two monsters push the curtains back and walk behind her, patting each other on the shoulder. 

"Pleasure doing business with you, Kanja, but I don't want to see your ugly shitface ever again." The unfamiliar man, Kanja, barked out a laugh. " _Girl._ " Rey turned around and forced herself not to fling her fists or run her tongue. She took a quick look at Kanja, observing his royal Fire Nation robe and flame insignia melted to the shoulder plates. His hair was cut short and his face was frail and pointy, like a _real_ rat. Plutt pointed to his office and barked, "Go clean the mess in there." Kanja's beady eyes bore into hers, and she felt pinned down, like he was scheming and putting together pieces of some puzzle she didn't know. She fixed a glare and walked over to the doorway, grabbing a towel. The second her eyes left his, Kanja's hand groped around her bottom and Rey jumped up, hitting him blindly in the face. _Mistake._ Kanja clawed at Rey's throat and held her against the wall, her feet dangling.

"I like a girl...with a little _fire_ ," he hissed and put his finger on her cheek. Rey gargled for air, scratching at whatever flesh she could find as Plutt scrutinized with a curled grin. Kanja's finger laced itself with a sliver of a flame, singeing her cheek. She let out a grunt as she kicked and pushed, slowly losing herself. "Next time I want to touch you," his fire-engulfed hand extinguished and slid down to her left breast, "you're going to let me." He let her throat go and she crumpled to the floor, coughing and sputtering for air. Her cheek was lined with pus filled blisters and pink blood. 

"Alright, she needs to get back to making me money. I'll see you tomorrow," Plutt remarked and led Kanja outside. It was a shame Rey had chugged all the water Poe had given her...it was only morning. _Wait...Poe._ Rey quickly thought back to that little girl in orange who'd handed her a phony note. She'd forgotten to ask Poe what the purpose behind it was.

_Ding._

_Go away._ She pushed herself up and wiped her clothes off, hoping the next customer wouldn't try and sell her any more useless shit. She'd had enough from Plutt for one day. 

"Hello?" a deep voice questioned. It sounded concerned for whatever reason. 

"Yeah, just a second," Rey mumbled as she pushed her hair out of her eyes and noticed a new bruise on her shoulder. With a sniff, she turned around, expecting to see some starving old man or another regular scavenging hustler, but her eyes locked into the black pupils of a Fire Nation soldier. She tensed up and took a step back, ready to run if he tried to shoot at her. Instead, he put his hands up and looked at her cheek with concern. The black and red armor refracted the sunlight in her eyes, making her squint and wish to pull his pompous crimson cape over his head.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he assured, "I'm here for Lord Kanja." Rey eyed him with scrunched brows. He didn't really look like a soldier; his skin was dark and his eyes were kind and wide.

"He isn't here," Rey wheezed, her throat burning. The soldier slowly put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a little bottle of some kind of syrup and some gauze. His face twisted into a sad twinge as he slid them on top of the counter and steadily walked away with a "Thanks." Rey just gazed at the gifts, wondering what the hell to do with them. Were they for Plutt? _No, they're obviously for me...maybe he was just grossed out._ She questioned whether to drink the syrup or not. The Fire Nation didn't hesitate when it came to poison slipping. _But, he could've just killed me up front._ Her throat dangerously painful, she screwed open the bottle and wrapped her lips around the opening, cautiously sucking the contents down. It tasted like sweet water that smoothly ran down her tongue, easing and numbing the pain away. She wiped her cheek with a clean rag and put the gauze over her burn, wincing at the sharp pain pulsing in her skin. She'd never seen that soldier before. The others had been patrolling the same alleys and roads since she was young, but she'd never seen one with dark skin. 

_Ding._ Rey snapped up and saw a line forming in front of her counter. Frail, young, old, tall, short, and skinny scavengers all stood with their hands full of whatever they could find in the night; the regular customers. She noticed that the Fire Nation soldiers marching by were peering at each one, whispering among themselves and glaring. As she looked in the eyes of each "rat" one by one throughout the day, her throat gradually clenched back up. There had to be at least two hundred of them in the span of five hours, and the majority of scavengers don't even do business with Plutt. Rey realized, near the end of her shift, that there had to be _thousands_ of scavengers hiding around the Outer Ring. They formed a massive community, a network where some help others, like Poe, and others help themselves, like Rey. There were all types: some dying, some starving, some filthy, some young. There were _so_ many children.

_They're all in danger._

* * *


	3. Territories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm realizing that this is starting to sound like a Poe/Rey fic, but trust me, it's Reylo. Y'all just have to be patient;) Thank you so much for all the reads so far! I'm glad you're giving it a chance. Some Reylo is coming up quick in the next few chapters!

Rey's hut squatted just outside the Plaza where she worked. From the side, it looked like an abandoned cabbage cart left to rot next to apartment buildings. People passed by, some of the children slightly curious, but refraining from peeking, and the soldiers never giving it a second look. She was rarely in it anyway, and if someone _did_ decide to snoop around, all they would find is a bunch of junk. There was a pile of potato sacks that she'd pressed into a mattress flopped in one corner and a rusty tub of tainted water in the other. The wall that the hut was propped against had hundreds of tick marks scratched on its surface, each day gaining a new one. There was a single lantern that would dimly glow on the nights she couldn't sleep. There was no kitchen, no dresser or storage of any kind, or even a pillow. It was like a mutt's kennel, but at least it was quiet...most of the time.

Rey gritted her teeth as she opened and closed the music box, her gut wrenching at the outside noises that invaded and violated her ears.

" _Oh, yes...yes! Choke me, soldier...ah!_ "

She opened the box, listening to the four second tune. She closed the box. They'd been at it all night.

" _You peasant whore...dirty...whore...ugh!_ "

She opened the box, then closed it. Opened, closed, opened, closed. Her "neighbors'" noises spiraled out of control, and Rey began to hear repeated banging noises. There wasn't a brothel anywhere near the Outer Ring; she heard that those were reserved for the Middle goers. However, she ran into the occasional whore every now and then, and she'd always ask herself _Why?_ when she forced past them. It was a dumb question...she knew they groped a good amount of money from Fire Nation soldiers during their...sessions. They were the perfect candidates: no wife, no home, and no punishment. Sometimes the girls hung around the streets of plaza to lure them into a "makeout session", where they let the men feel 'em up as they snatched the wallets in their pockets. Plutt would have to send them away (not after fondling them first, of course), because they distracted the law while scavengers did what they do best. She once caught Poe flashing his smile at one, and since then, she thought they were the most vile and shameful people in her network...and they weren't even being hunted down. 

" _Oh, fuck!_ _"_

With a huff, she put the box down and stepped out into the cool night. Their screaming echoed off the dirt and crumbling stone buildings down the road, and she stomped after the source. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but it had to _stop._ She stopped outside a shaking tent, the grunts and claps of skin hitting skin making her sick. The door flap of the tent was parted slightly, and a long, complex looking rod stuck out from beneath the cloth. She stared at it stupidly, her wide eyes losing focusing as she thought of a scenario where she could bash them in the head and knock them out. _They'd be quiet..._ Biting her lip, she crouched down and hovered it, observing the numerous scrap trinkets smoldered on its surface. Her hand grasped the end and she slowly slid it out, the flap opening more and giving Rey a few view of the horror show inside. The man had one hand around the woman's throat and the other yanking her crimson hair while he pummeled in an out of her legs. Her eyes were watering, breasts bouncing, and toes curling, while her lips curved into an "o". Rey shivered, her jaw dropping and nose scrunching. She'd never truly seen what Plutt calls a "fuck", but now that she had, she was more than ready to leave and throw up somewhere. Quickly looking away, she focused pulling the rod all the way from the tent. _Almost..._

The woman shrieked as the end of the rod caught against a table and knocked a bedpan over on them. The man jumped up, screaming out words Rey had never heard before, and snapped his attention at the opening in the tent. _Shit._ Rey sprung up, the rod in her hands, and darted away as he flung the flap open and ran after her. Behind her shot a burst of fire, the heat licking at her back and triggering the pain in her cheek. _Shit, shit, shit, he's a firebender._ She turned a sharp corner a slid on the gravel, using the rod to support her weight and prevent a fall. Her head turned the side and she looked back, checking her distance from the soldier. It was too dark to see his face, but his... _baggage_ was easily visible, and Rey had the sick urge to giggle before crashing into someone and falling over, the rod flying from her hands. She grunted as she looked up and met the small eyes of the girl in orange.

Rey panted, shoving her away. "What the hell are y—" 

The girl's index finger found her lips again as she whispered, "Shh." She stood up and darted off, disappearing into the darkness of the night. Behind her a ferocious glow of orange and red lit the alley as the firebender sprinted closer. Rey panicked and froze like a hare possum before fleeing, her arms seizing up and heart racing.

" _Rey_?" 

Rey flinched and looked up to see Poe leaning off the top of an abandoned apartment tower. His head flicked towards the firebender before he jumped, rolling over as his feet pounded the ground. He pushed himself up and took Rey's hand, pulling her up and dragging her inside the worn down building behind her. They ran, their palms entangled and grasping one another. Rey panted, her lungs burning from sprinting as Poe maneuvered her around collapsed ceilings and wooden beams. They dropped down and crawled underneath a pile of rotting dressers, splinters digging into Rey's forearms, but she didn't let his hand go. She felt heat lick her neck as the room caught on fire, the naked soldier screaming and pushing his way after them. Poe pulled her toward a rocky wall with a slim crack down the middle and squeezed her through, himself after. They continued to run down what looked like a wooden jail as the firebender behind them tried to fit through the wall. Rey looked back and laughed at his fat form sticking to the cement while Poe piloted them through a small door and into the street. They kept running until all they heard were their own feet against the gravel and their breaths panting. Their pace slowed, and Poe jogged over to one of the old inns that no one wanted to visit since the lice outbreak a few years back. He hopped and climbed up the side of the wall until he was on top, and Rey followed close behind, her thighs about to disintegrate. When she reached the top as well, she put her hands on her knees and prepared to throw up, panting like the firebender in his bed. 

"You...you okay?" Poe said in between breaths while crouching down to meet her eye. With an exhilarated grin, she nodded and sat down, looking at the view of the Plaza. As much as she hated the place, it was an ugly kind of beautiful. 

"Yeah... Do you think we lost him?" she huffed, pointing to the building on fire. Poe let out a wheezy laugh.

"One firebender against two master street rats? Yeah, I think we lost him." She giggled and dangled her feet off the edge as he stood and walked over to a wooden barrel, pulling a water pouch from inside. 

"Is this...your place?" she asked, looking around. He snorted and walked back, sitting next to her and handing her the water. She took it gratefully and sucked half of it down.

"One of 'em, yeah. You think I, the Lord of the Dirt, would settle in just one place?" Rey handed the water back and shrugged her shoulders, not really knowing _what_ to think of him. He did unpredictable things, like showing up on top of a building in the middle of Nowhere Alley. 

"So, what'd you do to piss off a naked firebender?" he asked, taking a swig from the pouch.

"I interrupted his fuck." The water in Poe's mouth spewed out as he coughed and wiped his chin with his sleeve.

"His _what_?" 

"His fuck. Isn't that what it's called?" He looked at her wide-eyed, a smile threatening to break into laughter.

"You've spent too much time around your boss. Nobody calls it that." 

"Well, what do they call it? Bump and grunt?" 

"What? No! It's just sex," he shrugged his shoulders as if saying " _duh_ ". 

"Have _you_ ever sexed, oh ratliness?" Poe scrunched his face and looked out to the Plaza, a breeze brushing through his dark curls.

"Yes, I've _had sex_. Haven't you?" He looked back at her with an uninterested look and slightly raised brows, as if he'd had the same conversation everyday.

"Well...no." His eyebrows dropped, like he was disappointed. "Anyways, what the hell were you doing out in East District?" He took another swig of water and propped his knee up.

"Out working, dumbass. I thought you were a scavenger?"

"In the _East District?_ But there's nothing there, everyone knows that." He snorted and looked down, shaking his head.

"Is that what they told you? I thought they were better liars than that." 

"What are you talking about?" He looked back up and chuckled.

"This is my territory. Everyone told you nothing was here because they know it's mine."

"Poe, we don't have territories, it's every man for himself here."

"Really? Why do you think no one goes to the Abandoned District you like to work at?"

"...Because it's the _Abandoned_ Distric _—“_

”No, it's because I make sure they stay out of your territory. Why the hell do you think you found that Water Tribe treasure? That would've been snatched up _years_ ago."

"How do you know about the music box?" She stood up and eyed him, wondering what else she didn't know about him. She felt cheated, like everything she'd worked to salvage was merely handed to her, and her pride was evaporating.

"I saw you looking at it while you were working this evening." 

"Why...and... _how_ did you give me a territory?" 

"I have more connections than you know. I guess I just like you too much, kid." She didn't answer, unsure whether to thank him or push him off the building. Instead, she sat back down and crossed her legs.

"Do you remember the day we met?" she questioned, looking at the smog covered sky. Poe only nodded in response. "How did you get that soldier's armor?" 

His eyes dropped to the ground below them as sighed. "Rey, there are things you don't know about me that could...make you never want to see me agai—“

"Did you kill him?" 

He didn't answer for a while. He just stared at the lanterns lit next to the patrolling guards by the train station. Slowly, he nodded.

"He killed her, that girl I was trying to help. Two days after she stole the apple. He took her to this building and raped her—“ Rey gave him a confused look. "—had sex without her permission," he corrected. Her stomach dropped at the thought and remembered what Kanja did with his hands. What if he had...kept going? "I heard her screaming and found him downstairs. He looked me in the eye when he set her on fire." 

Rey put her hand on his arm. "How...how did you kill him?" He let out a breath that sounded like it had been held for hours as his eyes teared up. 

"I don't _know._ I was just so _angry_ , I was running and then he was on the floor. I kept punching and punching and...I kept hitting him until the ceiling fell and crushed his head. I couldn't control myself, I just kept _hitting_ him, and it felt like the ground was shaking and I-"

"Shh." Rey wrapped her arms around his head as he kept repeating _I kept hitting him._ She let him breathe it out, not saying anything until he came up and wiped the tears from his face.

"I'm some great leader, huh?" he sniffed, shaking his head again and looking away.

She pulled the collar of her shirt down and pointed at a scar that snaked around her collarbone. "When I was younger, I took a bag of coins from one of the guards by the Great Wall. It wasn't a weapon, or food, or anything huge and important. Just six copper pieces; it was my first theft. He chased me down the West District for what felt like hours, and when I slowed down, he caught me and dragged me over to a well. He didn't set me on fire; instead, he took a knife out and tried to cut my throat open, but I kicked him and he missed my neck." She ran her finger across the elevated skin. "I tried to run but he pushed me into the well. I was stuck in there for a week before someone pulled me out." There was long silence, neither of them looking at each other or moving.

"...I'm sorry," he breathed. "I'm sorry I wasn't there back then to pull your arm off and drag you to a roof and out of danger." _Danger._ She quickly inhaled and looked at him, her heart briefly stopping as she remembered.

"Poe, there's something I need to tell you."


	4. The Red Parade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be honest...writing this chapter was hard. WARNING: it's very explicit.

The next morning terrified Rey. The usual crowd of wagon carriers, hustlers, whores, beggars, merchants, thieves, children, and Fire Nation soldiers were gone, the Plaza still and silent. Could Poe have done this? She'd told him what Kanja had negotiated to Plutt, and she was hoping to whatever god that existed that he relayed the message. Could he have told everyone to stay away from the Trading Post? She didn't expect the whole damn _community_ to disappear. 

She was greeted by two soldiers wearing heavy Fire Nation armor and helmets at her counter. Plutt and Kanja were no where to be seen, making her stomach sink and jaw twitch with anxiety. The soldiers marched forward in synch and grabbed her arms before she could bolt. She tried to pull away, but their grip tightened as their gloves grew hot with flame. Her skin burned the longer she resisted and she yelled out in pain, giving up and standing still. They pulled her back to face the road, one soldier at each arm, when she noticed a towering cloud of black smoke just outside the Great Wall. It was ominous...she couldn't take her eyes away. Something about it drew her in, clouding her senses and tearing at her focus. She didn't hear Plutt and Kanja shut the door of the Trading Post and stand beside her. Kanja's hand claw at her bottom, snapping her out of her trance. She struggled against the soldiers, but their gloved hands burned deeper into her skin, forcing her to stand still. Biting her tongue, she looked back at the black cloud. 

"BRING THEM OUT!" Kanja roared, Rey flinching at the gal in his voice. She confusedly looked around, waiting for something to happen, but the Plaza remained noiseless. Maybe it was a sick joke, or maybe some sort of threat from Plutt for telling Poe about their plans. Maybe, she thought, they followed her last night, or saw her sneak the music box home. Her heart began to race, the suspense of the moment eating away at her insides. Paranoia strangled at her throat as she looked back at the black cloud, wondering if it was a dark spirit like the ones in the book she bought from Shan. _Shan_. Where was he? She didn't see him yesterday...he was a daily trader at work.

Movement in the corner of her eye snatched her gaze away from the cloud, her jaw going slack when she saw them. Soldiers, an army of them. _Hundreds._ Their armor matched the two soldiers' gripping her arms: black and red with spikes melted onto the metal plates and a blood red cape with a Fire Nation insignia. Their hands were balled into fists at their side, flames engulfing them like gloves. They marched out behind the never ending buildings and formed two straight lines that stretched from the train station to the Great Wall. Crammed between them were the citizens of the Outer Ring... _all_ of them. The children and elders, the scavengers and thieves, Poe's networks and communities, all shoved together like cattle. She frantically searched for Poe, wondering why she wasn't shoved in with the rest of the crowd. Where was he, and why was she singled out? She was a scavenging rat, just like the rest of them.

"HALT!"

The soldiers all stomped their right foot down and froze, their hands threatening anyone who moved out of place. The overfill of citizens behind them were yelling and hunting for their families with teary eyes. Rey's search for Poe came to an abrupt halt when she felt the most violent earthquake shake at her feet. She looked to the trembling Great Wall, its concrete cracking into rectangular segments and collapsing down. Dust pumped out into the air, the fragments of the Wall disappearing into the empty chambers dug below. She heard gasps and screams from across the Plaza as massive Fire Nation tanks rolled through the Wall's opening. Soldiers upon soldiers marched past the people, fire roaring from their hands into the sky and swelling the air with heat. Monstrous red flags fell and hung from buildings, posts, walls, and gates. Red and orange were _everywhere,_ a sea of bright color flooding the alleys and streets. The children hid behind adults who stood frozen in fear as one last immense tank rolled through. Its insignia was lit on fire, the flames licking the blackening sky and evaporating into ash and smoke. It was hard to breathe, the heat clogging Rey's throat. Through a puff of dark dust, she saw a small figure slide underneath a soldier's legs.

"Wh-What are you doing..." she whispered, her eyes widening as tears pricked at her eyes. It was young boy, hollering and charging at the last tank. "NO! NO!" she screamed and wrought her body around, her voice cracking. "NO, TURN AROUN—" 

The boy leaped and pounded his feet into the ground, the earth below him exploding into boulders and crushing the soldiers closing around him. The hair on the back of Rey's neck stood while she watched in astonishment. _An earthbender._ A _real_ earthbender, the first seen in over three-hundred years. He swiveled around the soldiers' fire with his fist and palms breaking through the black soot rain, dust and massive rocks erupting around him. Rey tried to wring herself free and cried out from the searing pain in her skin. She looked back to the boy, her knees giving out as four soldiers rolled behind him and shot fire at his feet. His screams overpowered the citizens' when his feet blistered into pockets of pus, another twenty soldiers surrounding him in a circle. They aimed their palms at him and after a heartbeat, one of them barked, "FIRE!"

The whole Plaza erupted in protesting cries and screams as streams of red and orange were shot directly at the young earthbender, flowering out and radiating a blinding light. Rey squinted her eyes shut at the sight of his skin blistering and melting away, the hair on his head crumbling into black ash. "HALT! MAKE WAY FOR ADMIRAL REN!"

The fire vanished, leaving smoke and heatwaves to rise into the atmosphere and add to the smog of a sky. The soldiers synchronically marched back into line, exposing the remains in the center of the circle. It fell silent, the people wordlessly staring at the charred skeleton of a child. Tears dripped down Rey's cheek when she forced her eyes open and looked at what she thought was a myth, what adults sold as tales to her at Plutt's when she grew up. A foreign elemental bender, a possible cure from the fire infested disease of the world, dead.

The top door of the last tank twisted open and a beastly shadow poured out. Rey watched it, petrified, as it ghosted towards the skeleton, crouching over and skimming the skull with its fingers. Its back was _massive_ , unlike any soldier... It was bigger than Plutt, bigger than any man she'd ever seen. _No, that's no man._

A soldier stepped forward and saluted.

"An earthbender, sir—" The shadow reached out and curled his hand, the soldier crumpling to the floor and gagging for air. Rey was too terrified to flinch, or even breathe. How was it possible to choke someone _without touching them_? Her eyes didn't bother watching the pathetic soldier on the ground; they were paralyzed on the black mass that crushed its hand into a ball, a snapping sound cracking from the soldiers neck. Another man with flame orange hair and color ridden skin stalked forward, sneering in disgust as he stepped over the soldier's corpse. The shadow rose and tilted its masked face to the side, a mechanical voice spitting out.

"They're here." 

The sound sent a cold sweat down Rey's back, her skin forming goosebumps in the smoldering heat. The orange haired man whipped around and folded his hands behind his back. "MEN, ONWARD!" he barked and advanced back to the tank. The soldiers all stomped their right foot and yelled out,

"YES, GENERAL." 

They marched away from the Outer Ring citizens and formed into blocks. The black shadow took another look at the skeleton before striding back to the tank, its cape snaking through the air behind. As it mounted the metal horse, it hesitated to get inside, and Rey's whole body went numb as its mask turned her way.

She didn't feel the blisters in her skin anymore, or the ash in her eyes and throat, or the sinking of her stomach from looking at a dead earthbender's charred skeleton. She felt _nothing_ as it looked at her. After a long, dreadful moment, it turned back and vanished inside the tank. The wheels rotated and the army paraded forward, crushing down the wall that separated the Middle Ring from the Outer. Everyone watched in horror as they disappeared into the green hills of the middle class, headed for the palace in the Inner Ring. 

No one moved...they weren't sure what to do or where to go. Babies cried in the arms of their mothers, who held them too tightly. The older children couldn't look away from their friend in a heap of ash. Rey was empty feeling; she couldn't find Poe, the one person who could possibly save her from the monstrous hell around her. 

"All right. It's time to start business. Where's your men?" Plutt stepped forward, breaking the calm and unleashing chaos. Packs of soldiers marched forward and the crowd exploded into screams, bodies running rapidly to their homes and hideouts. Elders fell and were trampled over as women and children flooded to the Great Wall, hoping to slip through and escape into the rest of the Earth Kingdom. Three rows of firebenders raced them, blocking the opening and blasting up a wall of fire.

Kanja grabbed Rey by the hair and ordered the men to release her. The blisters and dead skin peeled off with the gloves they ripped from her arms, her voice cracking out a cry with tears of pain burning her eyes. Kanja turned her around to face four helmeted soldiers at standby. She clawed at his gripped hand, her scalp burning with stabs of pain.

"Who wants her? She's fifty gold pieces a go." He shoved her head forward, forcing her to look at them. A soldier in the middle stepped up and broke uniform, swiftly taking his helmet off, and Rey let out a mangled yelp as she recognized him from last night. He was the soldier Poe saved her from, the one she’d interrupted fucking.

"I'll take her," he laughed, tossing up a bag of money and yanking Rey's hair from Kanja. She kicked and clawed with her numb limbs while her chest heaved out tears. _Where was Poe_? He dragged her into the back of Plutt's office and shoved her onto a cheap wooden table, her ears rang from the shouting outside. He ripped his gloves off, the clammy hands and dirt caked fingernails clawing her ragged shirt off and exposing her chest wrappings. She tried to push herself up, but his hand forced her chest down and pinned her against the table. He kissed her, his tongue coating her lips and teeth with wet saliva. Kicking, she snapped her teeth shut and clamped down on his bottom lip, biting through. Blood seeped into her mouth while he shot up and screamed in pain.

" _Damn it,_ you _bitch_!" She spat his own blood into his face before the back of his hand struck her burned cheek. Fire swallowed his hand while he grabbed her chest bandages, singeing and ripping them away. His erection pressed into her leg and her voice cracked as she cried. Adrenaline shocked her heartbeat and sent her into overdrive, her eyes darting around and searching for something to bash his head in with. His fingers squeezed her exposed nipple, freeing his other hand from her neck to take out his hard penis.

"Remember this?" he snarled, rubbing it against her inner thigh. Her head spun, her heart raced. She felt her fingertips spark, her arms and legs spazzing uncontrollably. Her body writhed in pain as she let out a mangled scream and struck him a final time, a blinding flash of blue light filling the room. Blue flames and lightning exploded between the two of them, sending them crashing against the wall. Rey pushes herself up and looked at him, black and red scorch marks slithering up his dead face in veins. 

She covered her bare chest and ran outside, her eyes darting around the sprinting people. The three soldiers behind her yelled and shot flames at her feet, ordering her to get back into the office. She darted forward without knowing where she was going, the energy in her hands fading away with every running step. Her chest heaving, she turned a corner and sprinted down a market road, ignoring the gasping shopkeepers and goggling men. Rey looked back and saw the soldiers following close by, fire pummeling towards her and knocking wheelbarrows and carts over. She took a right and stopped at a grimy fountain, frantically looking for somewhere to hide. Apartment towers surrounded her and trapped her in a dead end. _Fuck!_

"Hey, over here!" a voice hissed, and Rey snapped her head to see the dark skinned soldier who'd helped her the day before. He extended his hand and urged her to take it, looking back at the approaching firebenders with fear. Running out of options, she ran to him and grabbed his arm. "You have to trust me," he said, his eyes demanding hers to agree. _No._ She nodded her head anyways, and his arm wrapped around her waist. _What the hell is—_

A jet of air forced against Rey’s feet and her knees gave out from the pressure. Her hair whipped above her head as the soldier plunged himself up, clinging her to his side. They had to be at least twenty feet in the air before leaping through a wide window of an apartment. The landing was gentle with no thud or painful fall and she quickly pushed herself off of the soldier, her body about to collapse with too much shock. 

“Shh,” a small voice breathed, and Rey looked down to see the girl in orange with her finger on her lips. The three soldiers below them stopped and paced around. 

“Where the hell could she have gone?!” 

“She must have taken a different turn—“ 

“Well then shut the fuck up and _go_!” With a quick blast of fire, they ran back down the alley towards the Plaza. Rey trembled and as the girl handed her a blanket to cover herself with. Cautiously taking it, she looked over at the soldier.

“Y-You’re a...” she panted, “a...an—“

”An airbender. My name’s Finn, and that’s BB-8. We’re part of the Resistance,” he said and pointed over at the girl. _Too much. It’s too much_.

She crumpled and lost control of her neck muscles, her head hitting against the floor as world went black.


	5. Hiding

_Heavy hands. They were like paws with long fingers, rough enough to kill and relaxed enough to caress. They hung from thick arms, the muscle and power showered in spiraling freckles. It was as if they’d reached into the sky and stolen the constellations to wear as a tattoo. Broad shoulders, wide enough to be buried alive in, supported a strong neck. Skin so tough that blades couldn’t pierce and so soft that light seeped through and glowed. Lungs filling, chest heaving gallon breaths. Eyelashes touching cheekbones, eyelids closed. Black hair curls around the jaw, the color of char, and eyelids flick open, the burning amber irises set free._

* * *

Rey woke with a sharp inhale and sprung up, the yellow eyes burning into her head. 

“Woah, take it easy,” Finn’s hand reached out to comfort her, but she flinched and pushed herself away. “Look, I’m not gonna hurt you.” She looked underneath the blanket draped over her to see a new, oversized shirt, as she failed to recall what had happened.

“Where am I?” 

Behind her, the girl, BB-8, sat down and crossed her legs next to Finn.

“A safe place. Wha—”

“How long was I out? What’s happened to the Plaza?” Rey stood with faltering legs and stumbled against a wall, Finn jumping up to help her. 

“A week. We did our best to get water in you when you zoned in and out. What’s your name?” 

She looked out the window and to her surprise, the Outer Ring looked as it always had, with the exception of the countless red flags draped everywhere. Crowds of businessmen strolled through the streets with wagons and animals, and women with baskets of bread hollered for business. 

“Rey.” 

“Rey. You might want to sit down, I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Don’t ask BB-8 though...she doesn’t like to talk.” Reluctantly sitting back down, she looked over at BB-8, who had her finger to her lips in a "shh" motion. 

"What happened outside? Why is everything so...normal?" 

Finn sat down and leaned against the wall, looking as if he didn't really want to have this conversation, but she didn't care. She needed answers.

"A couple of days after you fell unconscious, the Admiral sent more troops to guard the Walls. No one's escaped...we're all trapped in here. Business had to go on, and people needed to eat." _We?_ Suddenly, she dully recalled flying.

"How the hell did an _airbender_ get mixed into a Fire Nation army?! How are you even _alive_? The other element benders died over three-hundred years ago!" 

"No, they didn't." Finn shook his head and looked up at the ceiling of the apartment room. "As long as the Avatar is alive, all four elements will never die out." 

Rey scoffed, "The _Avatar_? Stop bullshitting me, they're all _dead_!"

"Who do you think makes up the Resistance, Rey? Sword wielders? They're all out there, the waterbenders, the earthbenders, airbenders, sand, metal, they're _all_ alive. Hundreds of them!" 

She stared at him with a disbelieving smirk. "Yeah? Why aren't _you_ with them? Where are they, huh? Is your 'Avatar' there?" Finn flared his nostrils and huffed.

"I _was_ with them, once, when I was seven. Three-hundred years ago, after the Fire Nation took over, the surviving benders went into hiding to protect the future Avatars. They went nomadic and left their grounds every time they thought their position was compromised." Rey raised a brow.

"Okay, _say_ you're telling me the truth, and _say_ I'm somehow believing it; why isn't the _Avatar_ here to protect us? We're the most abused city in the Earth Kingdom." 

BB-8 bit the skin on her lip and looked down as Finn picked at his thumbnail. 

"They...lost him—the Resistance."

"But, _you're_ part of the Resistance, right? How did you _lose_ him? I thought you said he was alive?" 

"No, _we_ didn't lose him, our _parents_ did. Every generation, there's a new Avatar, right?" Rey nodded, not sure what the point was. "The Avatar that lead the first generation of Resistance fighters was an airbender. He died when he was a hundred and twenty, and one of the waterbenders gave birth to the new Avatar. When _she_ died about forty years ago, a new one came from the earthbenders. It's the cycle. Well, when he was old enough to control his powers, he disappeared. Recently, we've been looking for the new one." 

_This is such a load of shit._ "Okay, and, what, you think the last one isn't still alive somewhere?" 

Finn shook his head. "The rest of the Resistance don't believe us. That's why we're here, to find him," he and BB-8 shared a look. "We think the one that disappeared died." 

"Well...why are you here _,_ at the shit stain of the Earth Kingdom? The new Avatar's supposed to be in the Fire Nation, right?" 

"Rey, I've been pretending to be a soldier in the Fire Nation for a long time. That's where I found BB-8, at the Capitol." BB-8 twisted her hand and a tiny whirlpool of air funneled around her palm, lasting only a few seconds before vanishing. "She was an orphaned refugee. I caught her airbending in an old alley to sneak food."

"But why _here_ , now, as a soldier?" 

"We couldn't find him in the Capitol. We looked for years without finding anything." He stood up and gazed out the window, his face tensing. "I think he's here, hiding himself in the army." 

Rey's heart stopped beating, her shoulders tensing and eyes widening. 

_Burning amber irises._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GET READY FOR SOME KYLO REN IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!


	6. Father to Son

Her stomach roared as she and BB-8 crouched behind a barrel of pickles next to a run down bowl shop, watching Finn make a pathetic attempt to steal a pie from old Mrs. Adler's. Earlier he'd convinced Rey that he was an expert thief, but she immediately regretted believing him when he pointed out randomly in the sky and shouted, "What the hell is _that_?!"

Mrs. Adler didn't even flinch; she gave him a disappointed look and smacked the back of his head, shooing him away. Rey put her palm on her forehead and cringed as Finn sulked back to the pickle barrel empty-handed. 

"Wow, I've never seen _anyone_ mess up that badly," she booed. Finn glared and slumped against the wall.

"Look, I'm sorry our hideout doesn't have any food, okay? Do you have other ideas? Aren't you like a forager or something?" he whined.

"I'm a _scavenger_ , and you're wearing a _Fire Nation soldier uniform_ , dipshit! You could've just threatened her and used force like _they_ do." She jabbed her thumb over at the soldiers at standby, blocking the road to the Great Wall a few blocks down. He gave her an insulted scoff and BB-8 let out a frustrated huff, blowing an orange lock from her face. "Since you're _so_ obviously new at this, I'll show you the street rat way of doing things. Hand me those bowls over there." She pointed at two large, rotting wooden bowls leaning against the shop's wall and looked around for an easy target, deciding an old man's bakery was the best choice.

Finn handed her the bowls and she stuffed one up her shirt, faking pregnancy, and held the other against her hip. _Watch and learn._ She waddled across the Plaza, taking care to not show her face near Plutt's Post, and stopped at the old man's shop. 

"Oh!" she gasped, dropping the bowl from her hip and leaning against one of the baskets filled with bread. The shop owner rushed over and put his hand on her arm, steadying her.

"Ma'am, are you okay? I-Is the baby coming?" 

She shook her head, a twinge of guilt sticking in her throat as she let out a wispy laugh. "No, heavens, no. He just kicked...will you be a dear and hand me that bowl, please?"

"Of course, of course!" he said, getting on a knee. As he was bent over, Rey shoved three loaves of bread into the bowl under her shirt, the heat burning her torso. The man stood back up and handed her the bowl, asking, "Can I interest you in some bread while you're here?" 

_Poe wouldn't have done this to a nice old man._ Her heart felt heavy as she shook her head.

"No, thank you though. I'm just passing by."

"Alright, well, you have a good day. Stay safe!" He waved goodbye as she waddled off and muttered a "You too". She looped around the buildings to avoid looking conspicuous, ending up behind the pickle barrel and dropping the bowl of bread in front of the two airbenders.

"You feel good about that?" Finn complained, looking up at her with a disapproving face. Rey shrugged, taking one of the loaves.

"I don't have the luxury to not," she mumbled. That's what she had to tell herself every time she stole.

"Well...I can't say I agree with it, but I guess you're pretty talented. Did your parents teach you?"

The bread touched her lips before she put it back down, looking at her feet.

"No."

Finn sensed her discomfort and quickly changed the subject. "So what district of the Outer Ring are you from?" She took a bite of bread and savored the crackling crust.

"Oh, I'm not from Ba Sing Se. My asshole parents ditched me here when I was five." BB-8 and Finn shared a look.

"So...where are you from, then? Fire Nation Capitol? You're not the Avatar, are you?" he joked, making Rey laugh. 

"No, I can't bend. I've tried, believe me. I'm from the Si Wong Desert." Finn coughed out a piece of bread.

"That _shithole_? I would've never guessed!" Rey shrugged her shoulders and took another bite, talking with her mouth full.

"It can't be worse than _this_ place." She looked over to the ground where the earthbender youngling was burned alive. "Was he in the Resistance?" She nodded her head at the spot and Finn followed her gaze, shaking his head in response.

"Sometimes people can randomly give birth to benders. It’s _really_ rare though... The bender doesn’t even live past, like, ten. _Ugh,_ this bread is _so good._ " He took a massive bite and Rey snorted, looking up at the Fire Nation flag hanging in front of them.

"So...this... _Admiral_. What is he, exactly?” she inquired as Finn licked his fingers clean.

"What _is_ he? He's...an Admiral? Who's the dipshit _now_?" he laughed, BB-8 smacking his arm.

"No, you know what I mean. He choked a soldier without _touching_ him. That's not something firebenders can normally do, right?" BB-8 shook her head and peered off into the Plaza, as if something grabbed her attention.

"No, firebenders can't do that. No one in the army really knows how he does it... Once I overheard a rumor about spirits living inside of him, and some soldiers think he's some kind of dragon. I don't know 'bout all that, but I _do_ know he can throw tantrums and make Fire Nation girls go crazy." Rey thought his lightness on the subject felt...inappropriate. Maybe he was talking about a different Admiral? The one Rey had seen touching a child's skull was _not_ the kind of beast she pictured girls falling for. She looked back out to the Plaza and caught her sight on a purse of coins hanging perfectly loose off a middle-aged man's backpack. The Admiral evaporated from her thoughts as she slyly grinned.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to buy some dessert," she said and stood up, Finn scoffing. 

"With what money?" 

She didn't respond, her legs picking up a quick pace toward the money. She was almost there when—

"— _Oof._ Oy, what the _hell_?!" she yipped, looking at the person who’d slammed into her. When she saw his face, tears pricked at her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug. " _Poe_?! Oh my god!"

He didn't hug her back. She let go and gazed up to see him frantically looking around the Plaza, his eyes teary and red. His head snapped around as if everyone was calling his name at the same time. "Poe, look at me." She grabbed his jaw and forced his face forward, his eyes finding hers and widening, crazed.

"Rey..."

"Yeah, it's me! Where have you _been_? What's going on...what...what's the matter?!" He started to shudder and his jaw shivered.

"They took my sisters...they took my...Rey, you need to leave. You need to _leave. Now. Run.”_ Poe shoved her arms aside and hastily jogged away, not giving her a second look. 

"Poe! POE! What the _fuck_ are you talking about?! _POE_!" Poe turned a corner and ran out of her sight, her thoughts so fast that she saw static. _Who's he talking about?! Wat the fuck just happened?!_ She walked backwards towards the pickle barrel and kept her eyes on the corner Poe ran off to, hoping he'd run back out with a pranking laugh. She needed to go after him. 

She turned around and froze, her eyes widening and her heart racing in her throat; Finn and BB-8 were gone.

"...Finn?—AGH!" A hand yanked her hair up and twisted her face around, her eyes flicking up to see Plutt's yellow snarl. "Get off me! _LET ME GO_! FINN! _POE_!" 

"Shut the _fuck_ up, you fire thieving _rat_!" a voice behind her barked. She clawed at Plutt's fist as she turned her head to discern the three soldiers that chased after her the other day. Her body seized at the explosion of memories from inside the office, the soldiers hands and blood and...lightning. Trembling, her teary eyes squinted at the pain on her scalp. 

"We know what you did, you cunt! _Who_ did you train from?!"

Rey cried, confused. "I don't know what you're talk—" Her face was back-handed as the soldier on the right threw over a rope-tied bag dripping with red ooze. Looking at it made her nausiated.

" _Open it._ " Plutt shoved her onto the rocks, the smell of the bag burning holes in her nostrils while the soldiers aimed their palms at her. With a quivering hand, she pulled the rope off and let out a gnarled gasp that scraped her throat. The soldier yanked the bag upside down and Shan's severed head fell out onto her lap, blood pouring down her clothes and hands. She cried and squirmed, pushing it off as bile plunged out her mouth. The soldiers hollered out a laugh as the one in the center crouched down and met her eye.

"A _friend_ for a _friend_." 

She forced her eyes away from the head, her throat burning as acidic vomit heaved out and gagged her. 

"Nighty night, sweet ass," Plutt whispered in her ear and slammed her head against the ground, knocking her unconscious in a pool of Shan's blood.

* * *

_Amber eyes. Corneas of fire. A serpent of light down the broad back, shoulder blades scaling into muscle. Lips that could breathe fire, but instead only choosing to smoke...._

“Why did you bring this _peasant_ to my feet, soldier? It's dirtying the floor.”

“General Hux, sir, this is the one. From the Trade Post.” _Silence._

“Send for Ren.”

“Yes, sir.” _Footsteps, a door, breathing._ It was dark, and she was cold and numb. She couldn't move, she couldn’t yell...she couldn't _breathe._ Footsteps, footsteps. They sounded heavy.

“Take it off.” _That voice..._ mechanical. Dead. The bag covering her head was flung off and she panted through her nose for air, squinting from the light violating her eyes. She was on her knees, her hands and ankles bound with a rope. Her mouth had a cloth shoved into it.

“Admiral, sir, this is the whore who killed one of our men...with _lightning_.” Rey opened her eyes slowly and glared up at the towering shadow from the Plaza. His black uniform was impeccably clean and crisp, his cape without a hair or crease. His helmet masked any facial feature, the gloves and boots hiding any glimpse of skin. He was enveloped in a shadow. 

He didn’t respond as the eyes of his helmet tilted at her face. She flared her nostrils, looking at the hand that touched the skull of a child. 

“...She is a thief sir, of fire. She's a master firebender and a threat to the Fi—” The Admiral clenched his fist and held his arm out, looking at the sputtering soldier.

“Do you think,” he spat slowly, “that a _master firebender_ would let you tie and gag her with _rope_ ,” the soldier clawed at his own purpling neck, “and not _disintegrate_ it?” 

The soldier crumpled to the floor and gargled for air, rapidly shaking his head “no”. The Admiral relaxed his fist and moved towards the orange haired man, Hux, Rey assumed, and hissed out,

“Don’t waste my time again.” 

He strode through the opened door and into the metal hall outside. Rey struggled against the ropes, burning her wrists. Hux scrunched his face up and looked Rey up and down.

”Take her to the cells. I’ll question her later.” He huffed out one last sneer and flounced out of the room as well, leaving the soldiers to usher her up and out the hall to the right. Red torches illuminated a long, metal hallway, and Rey struggled as she repeated their path in her head. _Right. Right. Left. Left. Straight._ Theyarrived at a dank corridor with barred cells lining the walls, all empty except one. 

Rey tried to scream his name through the rag in her mouth, but it only came out as muffled nonsense. 

“ _Rey_?!” Poe cried and pulled against the locked door of his cell. The soldiers opened the cell next to him and shoved her in, her legs tripping on the binding rope. Poe stretched his arm out to her from their shared wall. 

“Cry it up, you two. It’s your last chance,” the soldier whined out, locking her door with jingling keys and laughing with his comrade. They sauntered away as Rey wriggled over to Poe’s hand. 

“What the hell are you doing here?! I told you to _run_! Why didn’t you run?!” He yanked the rag out of her mouth and she coughed, gasping for air. 

“Poe, they got Shan...they...they killed him... Why are _you_ here?! Are your sisters here too?!” 

He slinked over and twisted his face in anger. 

“No. They took them...”

“Poe, I don’t understand,” her voice cracked, “why are they doing this?! We...We didn’t _do_ anything...we’re just _scavengers_ , w-we didn’t—”

“I did.”

She fell silent as he looked away from her. Was he talking about his networks? Did he steal from the wrong person? Did he get caught? Did he kill someone _else_? “W...What?” 

“Do you remember how I told you I killed that soldier? From the inn?” She nodded her head.

“Yeah, you punched him and the ceiling fell,” she stated, a _“so what?”_ tone nagging in her voice. 

“The ceiling didn’t cave in on him.” Rey pulled at the ropes that bound her hands, wanting to reach through the barred wall. “I’m an earthbender.” 

Rey’s stomach curled at the memory of the Plaza, the young boy’s fists striking the air and the earth following him, breaking at his will. 

“That boy...from the Plaza...was h-he—”

“My brother,” he sniffed, the darkness of the cells shadowing his eyes. Rey didn’t move; she was out of tears, and it was the worst feeling she’d ever experienced. She just sat, bound up with a pit folding in on itself in her gut, eyelids heavy and raw. 

“And...your sisters?” He was silent. “Poe...are you...in the _Resistance_?” she breathed. Poe let out a bitter laugh, confusing her. 

“ _No_ fucking way.”

“But...you can’t just _randomly_ have a full family of earthbenders, that’s impossib—”

“Rey,” he interrupted, his dark eyes meeting hers. She saw a tear sparkle from the far away torches drip down as his voice dropped. “My father was the Avatar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, how am I doing so far? Let me know and leave in the comments if you have any ideas you'd like to contribute to the story! Thanks for reading, lovelies<3


	7. The Dragon

"The _whole_ thing is _real_?!" Rey sputtered with her mouth hanging open. It was ludicrous, the thought of an entire secret society hiding away at her feet. She felt like the world wasn't ruined anymore, like there was hope that the death and fire could be wiped clean. The Avatar was out there, somewhere, and if Rey could get out, she was going to help Finn and BB-8 find him. _I need to find_ them _, first._

"Rey, listen. They're going to interrogate you, and they can _not_ know. They have my sisters...if they find out about this—"

"Poe, don't worry. My mouth can't be bought, remember?" He gave her a sad smile.

"Sunshine, they're not going to try and _buy_ you out." Four soldiers entered the cell corridor and marched to Rey's door with jingling keys. Her eyes widened at the realization of what he meant.

" _N-No—_ "

"Rey, look at me." Her terrified eyes locked into his as two soldiers grabbed her arms and stuffed the rag back into her mouth. " _Run_ , the first chance you get, do you understand? It'll be okay. Rey _, it'll be okay_!" He shouted after her as they dragged her out of the cell with warming gloves, fire threatening her resistance. She was pushed down the hall and into a different looking cell; the walls, ceiling, and door were made of solid metal and the floor made of solid black tile. There was a single chair in the center with metal hand and feet cuffs, and the soldiers shoved her into it, burning the rope binding her hands. She squealed through the rag at the pain on her wrists as they tightened the handcuffs around her, and her lungs began to pant in panic. 

Hux stalked in with a twisted face and his hands behind his back. She observed his pale face and slicked red hair, his blue eyes mismatching the rest of his Fire Nation uniform.

"Leave us," he ordered at the soldiers, who bowed and marched away with a "Yes, General."

Rey conjectured what he'd do to her with anxiety and fear...would he burn her? Set her on fire? Touch her, like Kanja, or rip her clothes off? Would he try to rape her, like the soldier in the Plaza? She sat still, her eyes locked onto him and waiting for movement. He just stood there with his head tilted back and his eyelids relaxed, looking bored. 

"When I let you _speak_ ," he stated, "you're going to tell me who trained you to firebend." His gloved hand reached out and yanked the rag from her mouth. She breathed in, mustering some courage from Poe's memory. 

"I'm _not_ a bend—" His hand smacked Rey's cheek her vision blurred. What didn't sit right in her stomach wasn't that he hit her...he was still calm and _bored._

" _Admiral_ Ren thinks you aren't either. He thinks you _didn't_ kill one of my men." His thumb and index finger shmushed her cheeks and painfully grasped her jaw. " _I_ saw his body, and _I_ think you're a liar." He let go and hit her again, her face stinging from the impact. "So, let's try this again, hm?" He put on a grin as his left hand gripped around her throat, his right rising in the air and igniting in flames. " _Who_ trained you to bend lightning?" 

"N- _No one—_ " His flaming hand stuck her and she screamed, the skin on her cheek blistering and sizzling in her ear. Some tears dripped down and amplified the pain, her hands wrenching against the restraints. 

" _Who trained you_?!" he seethed with cruelly amused eyes that reflected the red and orange in his fire. The hand around her throat buzzed with heat and he hit her again, smoke rising from her grilling cheek. Her body contorted in pain as she screamed out, loud enough for the world to hear. Her chair vibrated while her right hand ripped away from the metal handcuff, propelling her arm forward at his chest and striking back. His body lunged and hit the wall across her while she frantically clawed at the other three restraints with no luck. Hux stood and wiped the droplet of blood on his lip, looking at the broken handcuff with a curled grin. He didn't say anything as he slithered away and slammed the door, leaving her alone.

Her legs pushed and she yanked at her arm, trying to free herself, but the other restraints didn't budge. She looked over at the right handcuff, bewildered at its mutilated shape; the metal was twisted and stretched, like a piece of elastic that had been pulled too hard and snapped. Did Hux make her do that, or did she do it on her own? 

_Footsteps._ Heavy, slow footsteps echoed from the hallway outside. They were different from Hux's...they were spaced and calm. Rey took a few deep breaths, wincing at her scorching skin. She needed water. 

They stopped at the door and she balled her free right fist, ready to strike at whatever soldier was coming to take her. _Run, the first chance you get._ She was ready.

The door opened and her breath caught in her throat. The Admiral didn't speak as he advanced inside and shut the door behind him, his mask reflecting the soft glow of the torches' fire. She slowed her breathing as he looked at her, unmoving, until he ambled to the chair and put his hands on her wrists. His gloves weren't hot and threatening like the rest of the soldiers', like Hux's. They were warm and soft, and it disgusted her. She flinched as he craned his helmet to hover the hand shaped burns on her cheek and neck. He was so close...she could headbutt him and try to make a run for it. _Rey, run, the first chance you get._ Poe's voice echoed in her head, but she sat still, staring into the void of his masked eyes. She could hear him breathing.

He backed away slowly and took his hands off, her right arm free again. _Hit him, Rey._ His hand cupped the left metal cuff and shot a quick burst of fire, the clamps snapping open and freeing her left hand. She stared, confused.

"Bend."

He stood up and took a step away, his helmet focusing on her face as she furrowed her brows. He nodded at her legs.

"Your feet. Bend them free."

He didn't threaten her, but the empty voice from his helmet scared her to where he didn't have to. She took quick, deep breaths and sat up, raising her trembling hands. She tried, but she didn't know where to pull. Should she _touch_ metal? Should she just flex her hand and have something happen? Her palms searched for something...something to grab onto, something to pull or push, something to _feel_ , but there was nothing.

"I _can't_ ," she spat, tears pricking at her lowered eyes. She waited for him to move, to blast her or strike her with fire, but he didn't. He didn't speak, and she felt like she failed some test of his, like she proved herself unworthy. "Aren't you going to hit me?" she quivered, her eyes bravely flicking up to his mask. "Burn me? Set me on fire? Choke me like your soldiers?" He remained motionless as she sat up and leaned towards him. "Do you smile when you do it, like your _General_ friend? Do you _get off_ when you send your soldiers to behead men and _rape_ women? When they _burn children alive_?!"

He raised his massive arms and clicked open several latches on his helmet, bowing over. Rey's heart pounded as he pulled it off, a mess of black curls spiraling out, and stood back up. His emotionless face dropped her guard, his black eyes piercing into hers. They looked like they were searching for something, for a reaction or a movement, for Rey to do something she couldn't guess. He She just stared back, angry. A menace to the Kingdom, to the _world_ , was only a boy with the body of a monster. He didn't even look that much older than her. He looked calm, like nothing she said affected him. For a moment, she wondered what he looked like when was angry. She clenched her free fists, the thought of attacking sounding smarter by the second.

"You're not afraid," he said, his voice deep and light. She put her own mask of defiance on as he inched to her side, his hand reaching out. "We'll see."

* * *

_She was young. Too young to be by herself, alone. She sat on the street, crying. No one gave her food, no one gave her money, no one looked at her._

_She was older. A wallet in her hand, almost empty. Her legs running from a man. Her throat was touching his knife, her blood spilling. Then, it was dark and wet._

_She was older. She read a book and went outside, waving her hands. Nothing happened. She stood in front of water, waving her hands. Nothing happened. She scowled at the air, waving her hands. Nothing happened, and she cried. She wasn’t special._

_She was older. Her boss held her wrist, dangling her from the top of a roof. "Scavengers don't fall." He dropped her and she landed on her ankles, screaming._

_She was older. A boy with blonde hair leaning in to kiss her. "...Shan..." whispered from her lips, but she pushed him away, angry._

_She was older. She hyperventilated at the blood between her legs. She was a woman._

_She was older. A boy her age stood over a girl with an apple. He yelled at the soldier. She wanted to help him...she liked his hair and eyes—_

_STOP_.

* * *

She gasped, her lungs heaving for air. _My life. That was my life._ The memories had played before her eyes, tearing at her heart. When she was abandoned, when her collarbone was slit, when she unsuccessfully tried to bend, when Plutt taught her how to scavenge, when Shan mistook her help for love, when she grew up, and when she met Poe...her eyes teared up and her fists shook. She felt a different kind of violated.

He watched her, waiting. She felt his eyes burning into hers, reading her life away. She clenched her jaw as her hand flung out to hit him, her fingers barely touching the black fabric of his tunic before—

* * *

_A woman with braids and kind, blue eyes, her movements with beautiful grace. Water danced around her fingertips, wrapping around her body and gliding through the air._

_Further._

_A white flower dried and withered away, ash falling from the sky._

_Further._

_The room was massive with only one source of light. Flames swallowed the stage, wrapping around the stone columns and created a silhouette on_ him. _His master, his Lord._

_Further._

_Darkness, silence, rubble, broken stone buildings. A thin scavenging girl holding a music box—_

* * *

" _ENOUGH_!" He was hunched over, the hair covering his shut eyes. 

"Y...You were _there_?" she hissed, the night she found the music box replaying in her mind. She remembered hearing a noise behind her, making her run. The Admiral panted and flicked his furious eyes up at her, his face contorting into a murderous expression. Her heart caved in on itself when she looked into his newly burning amber irises, BB-8’s note flying through her thoughts.

_The dragon sees in the dark._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo chapter one reference!!!! Lemme know whatcha think!;)


	8. Rain

She looked terrified, but he knew she wasn't. He could see right through her and her empty past. It was meaningless, only glimpses of a pathetic childhood and failures to bend an element. She was no one, just an out of place street rat that caught his eye on a frustrating night alone. She didn't look into his head, his powers had just backfired...right? It didn't matter though, he didn't see what he was forced to look for. She was no one, and that bothered him.

He fled her cell, furious at the useless information of her past dancing in his head. Hux was going to receive his wrath; he'd warned him to not waste any more of his time...other benders needed to be found. 

Ren strode down the long metal halls clasping his helmet to his side. _Where is he?!_ His feet pounded against the tiles and echoed as he turned a few corners before catching the redhead sneering past him. His hands clasped around Hux's throat, the helmet landing with a _thud_ as he growled in frustration. Hux sputtered for air, fire lashing out around him pointlessly. 

"You know you can't _burn_ me. Why try, little man?" he hissed as his hair clung to his forehead and cheek.

"Let me _go_ , you wretched _animal—"_

"I told you to _not_ waste my time again," he seethed, his hands swinging back and releasing Hux's purpling throat. Ren scowled as he took a deep breath in an attempt to recompose himself. 

"Well? What is she?" 

"She's _nothing_ , like I told you."

"She can't be _nothing_ _._ What were her birth parents?" 

Ren didn't answer, his eyes angrily darting to the side. "I couldn't find them. She must not remember."

"Must not— _Admiral,_ she's hiding something. If you can't get it out of her, even with your _pretty face_ method,then you take her to the Fire Lord."

"No."

Hux's face turned red as he scrunched his nose in spite. "No? You've always been _obliged_ to take these filth to our Lord and stack your _superiority_ above mine. What's stopping you? Are you _afraid_ of her? What, because she's the first bitch to fight you back?! Does a _street rat_ scare the mighty _Admiral Ren—"_

"Send her somewhere else. I want nothing to do with her, she's useless." He tried to control his face temperature, a lick of anger threatening at his palms. 

"Ooh, those yellow eyes do not scare me. Either _you_ take her to the Fire Lord," he leaned forward and squinted his eyes up at him, "or she stays with _you_ here."

 _Don't hit him._ "Send Maz. If she can't see her parents, I'll make a decision." With a deep breath, he calmed his face and stormed away, his helmet back to his side.

* * *

Rey had sat quietly in her cell after the Admiral had left, bound in chains and stuck with her loud thoughts. She kept reviewing the waterbending woman that she'd seen in his head, how she looked an awful lot like the figurine in the music box back home. She thought of her beat up hut, if it was still there or if some other rat had inhabited it. She thought of Finn and BB-8 and wondered if they were safe. What if they weren't even in Ba Sing Se any longer? Where were they, and where was _she_? She was obviously in a prison, but where? Was she even in the Earth Kingdom? And what had happened to Poe and his sisters? What if they couldn't resist Hux like she had and gotten themselves killed? All these questions swirled together under the shadow of the biggest question in her head: how had she seen into Ren's mind? She'd never done anything like that before...

The door to her cell swung open and two guards marched inside with a small, wrinkly old woman in chains behind them. Rey said nothing as she waddled towards her, her magnified eyes goggling into her own. She was frowning, her hands limp against her shackles. 

"This is the girl?" she spoke, and behind her paraded in Hux with a blank face. Rey sneered up at him, anticipating another hit to see what else she could do to someone she'd never done before. Maybe she could try to see into _his_ head.

"What do you see?"

"Well, she's poor, from the Outer Ring of Ba Sing Se in the conquered Earth Kingdom--"

"Yes, we know all this already. Look further. What were her parents?"

Rey scrunched her brows, confused at the topic. She didn't remember really anything about her parents except a blurry image of her mother's face.

"Her parents..."

The woman froze, her eyes wide and full of shock. Rey pulled her head back, uncomfortable with her gaze. She was seeing something, something Rey didn't know herself, and it made her insides squirm.

"Are they firebenders? Earth? Spit it out, Maz." The woman, Maz, relaxed her face and stood up.

"No. They were nobody." 

The way her eyes twinkled up at Rey's screamed out a lie. She knew there was more...there had to be. 

"Take her back to her quarters," Hux nodded at the soldiers, who broke from standby and dragged Maz out of the cell without a protest. "You," Rey glared up at him, "you're coming with me."

He pulled out a set of cuffs from his uniform and bound them onto her wrists, opening the chains that locked her against the chair. She stood and struggled against the gloved hand yanking at her arms behind her as they walked down the long hall. She questioned where he was taking her, but she didn't bother asking. _Run, the first chance you get._

In an instant, she slammed her elbow into his ribs and flung her head back, knocking him to the ground and sprinting forward. She took turn after turn, praying there weren't any dead ends in her path, when she saw a massive door ahead. It looked like it lead outside, and a wiggle of glee sprung through her legs. A smile parted her lips and she ran for it with her eyes glued on the doorknob. _Almost...free..._

An overwhelming force restrained her from moving and paralyzed her body. She felt like crying at the unfairness; she was _so_ close, and her body failed her. 

"The General is such a failure to this Nation," barked out a familiar mechanical voice. Rey's stomach curled as the Admiral snaked out from behind her, his mask shielding his face. He began to circle her like a predator on prey, the helmet never pointing away from her face. Rey tried to speak, but her vocal chords were stiff and locked, like the rest of her. _How is he doing this?_

He tilted his helmet, like he'd heard her. "When someone is birthed from two different elements, they can acquire certain forces in the world when they train well enough. Forces that are inexplicable. They communicate," he stopped in front of her, "they envelop senses and take control." 

She wanted to glare, but her face was frozen in horror. He leaned forward, his helmet inches away, and she felt his hidden eyes puncturing into hers.

... _Don't touch her..._

That voice...it was his. Unmasked, without the mechanical twinge and raspy breathing. It was his pure voice in her head, and she wondered how she could hear it. He lingered near her face before backing away. She felt her blood rush through her legs as her body gave out and her vision faded. She didn't hit the floor when she fell unconscious.

* * *

A loud crash woke her. She bolted upright, her heart racing and stabbing her chest. The noise shook the floor and rattled the metal walls; she struggled standing up with the swaying room. There was a single candle lighting a limited portion of the room she was in. It wasn't her cell, and she was sure it wasn't a dream...in dreams you don't feel like vomiting.

"...Hello-- _ah!_ " The room jutted to the side and Rey fell over. The sound of metal stretching and croaking mixed with crackling thunder as Rey tried to gain her balance. She grabbed the fragile candle and hobbled around, trying to fall in the swaying room. After a lap, she found a small metal door in the corner and turned the knob, a gust of wind blowing out her only light source. She felt droplets of water drip on her head and the burns on her face slowly healed. A sigh of relief escaped her lips before she fell over again, the thunder growing louder. She held onto the cold metal walls for support until she found another door. The handle vibrated as the noise and swaying became more intense, and she flung it open, light shooting inter her eyes. She flinched and covered her face, water splashing her whole body. In front of her was a set of metal stairs that led outside, a dark grey sky awaiting her. She bolted up them, ignoring the yelling of men who were struggling in the chaotic storm.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she wiped the water from her eyes and stared with amazement at the vast, angry sea. It was beautiful. She'd never seen the ocean before, or even felt rain.

"Get the fuck out of the way!" A solder yelled at her as he pushed past her, hauling ropes around his arm. It didn't take her long to realize she was on a Fire Nation ship. She frantically looked around for an escape, but there was no land in sight. There was no where she could go, no where she could run to. 

Suddenly, she felt the hairs on her neck stand. She turned to see the Admiral positioned on the upper deck of the ship, his mask pointed down at her. His feet were apart and his arms behind his back, power and patience leaking from his stance during a storm. She glared at him, knowing she was trapped. Deciding not to give him the attention, she turned around and walked to the bow of the ship, her hands gripping the railing as the floor rocked. She knew he was watching her every move, but she tried to ignore him. All she could do was enjoy her first rain, for she knew that wherever he was taking her, she would never come back to Ba Sing Se.


End file.
